FL: No more free rides: Fares coming to Miami-Dade’s MetroConnect transit shuttle

The free rides are ending Feb. 1 for Miami-Dade’s MetroConnect transit shuttles, the short-hop rides that were spared from the fiscal chopping block during the county’s last budget cycle.

While the app-hailed rides are still part of the county’s transit system, on Sunday they’re going to start costing riders $3.75 per trip.

Via, the company behind the service, said this week that the private MetroConnect cars currently provide about 1,900 trips on an average weekday.

The idea behind the service is to provide short rides connecting people with transit routes, including Metrorail stations and bus stops. But the cars generally will provide pick up and drop off in most areas within a designated MetroConnect zone.

To trim costs, the county also is imposing service cuts, with MetroConnect no longer operating on the weekends, starting Sunday. Two routes the county said lagged in riders — around the Waterford Business District in the Blue Lagoon neighborhood, and the Civic Center zone around the Jackson Health hospital complex — also are ending Feb. 1.

MetroConnect launched in 2020 as a way to close gaps in areas where bus service is spotty. It functions as a limited ride-hailing service, with users able to book free MetroConnect trips in 13 designated areas across the county.

Once costing Miami-Dade $11 million a year, the planned addition of fares and service cutbacks brought the expense down to $5.5 million in the $13.2 billion budget for 2026 that county commissioners approved in September.

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